Puma BeatBot Robotic Pacer, Provides Automated Motivation For Runners

Introducing The PUMA BeatBot - a programmable, self-driving, line-following robot that inspires PUMA’s runners of all levels to push harder by giving them a real visual target to beat, not just the time on a stopwatch. Enter the PUMA BeatBot, developed by a NASA robotics engineer, a trio of MIT students and Puma's ad agency, J. Walter Thompson New York. Resembling a shoe box on wheels, the device is akin to a racing mechanical rabbit for humans. It operates by scanning lines on the track using an array of nine IR sensors, making over 100 adjustments per second to stay on course. It has LED lights and dual GoPro cameras, and it's able to match Usain Bolt's 2009 foot-speed world record of 44.6 KPH (27.7 MPH)